Vocabulary for the Common Core (Paperback)

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) present unique demands on students to learn vocabulary and teachers to teach it. Authors Robert J. Marzano and Julia A. Simms address the need for CCSS-aligned vocabulary instruction in their three-part resource Vocabulary for the Common Core. They guide teachers and teams toward the creation of a successful vocabulary program while highlighting both general academic and domain-specific terms from the mathematics and English language arts standards. Direct vocabulary instruction is crucial for student success, especially in light of the CCSS, and Marzano and Simms show K 12 educators step by step how to achieve success for all students.

In part I, the authors introduce readers to Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, & Linda Kucan's three tiers of vocabulary: Tier 1 includes basic words, Tier 2 includes general academic or literary words, and Tier 3 includes words specific to subject areas. Additionally, readers learn the importance of vocabulary instruction, delineate the six steps of direct vocabulary instruction, identify Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary from the Common Core mathematics and English language arts standards, and discover how to build a classroom, school, or district vocabulary program. In part II, readers choose Tier 2 terms to integrate academic vocabulary into their classrooms based on classroom-ready descriptions and examples of each term. Part III allows readers to choose Tier 3 CCSS terms applicable to their subject area and grade level from into 116 measurement topics (groups of related words). The authors encourage readers to view the terms in parts II and III as starting points trying to teach them all would not allow teachers or students to spend sufficient time learning and understanding the vocabulary. The book ends with an alphabetic master list of all part II and part III terms, so teachers can easily find what they are looking for. For interested readers, there is an online-only list available at marzanoresearch.com/commoncore detailing the source of each term.